Purchasing a business in New Zealand can be a great way for people to fulfil their dreams to become a business owner without having to start from scratch, or to expand their existing business operations by purchasing an adjacent business.
While numbers fluctuate, there are typically between 3,000 and 5,000 businesses listed for sale across the country at any given time. With business confidence rising in 2026, it can be a great time to purchase and grow a business, or expand your business offering and portfolio. At Bizzy, we’ve also seen a clear trend towards this with an average 1 in 5 lending requests related to financing new business acquisitions.
The trickiest part for business owners is typically securing the finance to purchase the business. In this guide we’ve collected the main options to fund business purchases in NZ, and how you can prepare to apply for business acquisition finance.
Main options to fund business acquisitions in NZ
What to look for when comparing finance offers for business acquisitions
While interest rates are a key consideration for comparison, we see in reality that speed and flexibility are often just as critical to business owners in order to seize an opportunity.
We’re actively working with the banks currently on how to better help customers in this field through digital channels, but we also speak to a lot of business owners coming to Bizzy looking for non-bank finance or a way to combine options, as even experienced business owners often struggle with securing bank finance when it’s needed. One customer recently told us:
“This opportunity just presented itself to purchase this business, and we knew we just had to make it work somehow”
They ended up finding a partner through our panel of lenders who was able to look at their finance request in a different way than the banks or even some previous providers were able to.
How to prepare for applying for business acquisition finance in NZ
Typically lenders or banks will look for information that can be grouped into three categories: information about the business you want to purchase, information about yourself (your borrowing profile), and finally information about any existing businesses you may own currently. Key information that the lenders will usually look for:
Info about the business to purchase:
Total Setup Costs: what is the total cost to purchase and setup the business?
Tip: many businesses assume this is only the purchase amount. Consider any additional setup costs needed or if the business requires immediate working capital post purchase.Breakdown of Total Costs: what are the costs covering? E.g. franchise licence, asset purchases, legal costs
Breakdown of Assets: If not mentioned in 1.2 already, what assets are being acquired as part of the business? What is the value of them? Best to have the invoices or quotes for those assets to help with the valuation.
Capital Contributions: how are those total costs being funded? E.g. 30% own capital contribution, 70% through the business loan requested
Business Performance: as with any business loan application, the lender will analyse the Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, bank transactions and credit score of the business to purchase to understand financial performance to date.
Business Plan & Forecasted Financials: the lender will also want to see the business plan and financial forecast looking forward - for example to show any expected growth, or also optimisations planned through the new ownership. This is typically requested in a follow up conversation with the lender if the request looks generally suitable for them. Either way it’s good to have this handy as part of the general business purchase plan and due diligence.
Borrower Profile:
Experience: What is your experience in this field, and what made you consider purchasing this business? Despite the general focus on financials, in our experience lenders also look for experience of the purchaser - basically whether the acquisition makes sense. Make sure to share your story and experience clearly when applying.
Property & Assets: especially bank lenders in NZ favourably look to borrowers that have personal property to secure the loan against, if that is an option the borrower considers. Most lenders will also look at any personal assets in our experience, even if the loan is assessed based on the business in the end, having personal assets such as vehicles may help lower the risk profile and with that costs for the borrower.
General: Most lenders require the applicant to have New Zealand permanent residency or citizenship, and will perform a personal credit check as part of the application.
Info about any existing businesses (if applicable)
This is something a lot of applicants overlook when applying for finance to purchase a new business. While the lenders will want to see the information about the new business, which only a few lenders will look at in New Zealand, having an existing running business already can open up a lot more doors to funding options, for example by lending against the cashflow of the existing business.
If the purchaser has an existing business already, this can
a) make a stronger case for the borrower’s profile: the applicant has proven experience as a business owner, and even better if the business to be acquired would be a expansion / augmentation of their current business and
b) opens up the option to apply for funding against the current business: this means you may be able to borrow against your existing business, and use the funds to purchase or grow the acquired business.
To increase chances of finding suitable funding options to purchase the business, it’s definitely worth highlighting any existing business ownership in the application. If those are being assessed, the borrower can expect to provide the usual information (profit & loss, balance sheet, bank transactions) as part of the application, in addition to the information about the new business.
Pitfalls to avoid when applying for business purchase finance in NZ
When customers apply for business acquisition finance, we see two common pitfalls. Both play a significant role in how lenders assess risk, and are key factors that determine whether a finance application moves forward or stalls early in the process.
The first one is that applications without any own capital contributions or cash deposits are generally the most difficult to find funding options for. Any new business lending is typically seen as higher risk, so understandably the lender wants to feel the risk is shared and the borrower also has “skin in the game”. Any time there are business or personal assets that can be used as collateral or personal guarantees, this can typically help with approvals or also to lower the costs of borrowing.
Lenders also place significant weight on presenting realistic forecasts. Since you’re requesting a loan that will have a set repayment schedule, it is important to commit to a repayment plan that you will be able to stick to, as it otherwise only introduces issues down the road. Most lenders we find encourage this and want the business (and you as the borrower) to succeed as much as you do, so make sure to have honest conversations with your lending partner.
How to apply for business purchase finance in NZ
Bizzy makes it easy to access a wide range of NZ lenders, with only one application. Our mission is to make access to capital faster and more transparent for NZ businesses - it’s an ideal way to shop around options, and find paths that you may not even be aware of exist in the NZ market.
Want to explore funding options for your business acquisition?
Bizzy is free to use for businesses - browse multiple quotes with only one application, all in one place.
This article is for educational purposes only and provides general information about different types of business finance products available in New Zealand, and is not financial advice, or a recommendation to acquire any specific product. Bizzy does not offer loans, financial advice, or personalised recommendations. All finance options are subject to the individual lender's criteria and terms. You must assess any lender or offer yourself, and consult with a qualified financial adviser, accountant, or lawyer before making any financial decisions.
